Consequences
by vinkunwildflowerqueen
Summary: What if Cameron and Chase's one night stand had resulted in a baby? Set season 2, post Hunting/ Need to Know. Chameron.


Consequences

A House fan fiction

DISCLAIMER: I do not own House

AN. Hey, i actually wrote a Chameron fanfic! I should explain my long absense of new stories. I am working on one, so chill. But i found a whole bunch of old fanfics i had hand written, and thought it would be fun to post them, so you can appreciate how much i've grown as a writer in the past 5 years. If you like them, review! I will let you know when i post a new one. Also, i'm thinking of doing a sequel to SLAUGHTER from Chloe's POV when she's older. Let me know if you're interested, and check my profile! I've updated and made it more interesting.

Allison Cameron stared at her reflection in shock.

'_Do I look any different?' _she wondered.

She was pale, certainly, but she always had been. Just as she had always looked younger than her 29 years of age.

As she stood, gripping the counter in the bathroom of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, studying her reflection and lost in thought, her pager startled her as it vibrated on her hip. Startled, she held it up to check the message, and was overcome by a rush of bile in her throat. Gasping, she ran into the nearest cubicle and retched. Her pager, on the floor where she had dropped it, buzzed again, somehow sounding more insistent, but Cameron ignored it.

Shakily standing and walking to the sink to wash out her mouth, she caught sight of her pale, panic stricken reflection and began to sob quietly.

'_How could one night make my life come crashing down?' _she demanded of herself.

Over the past six weeks she had tried to convince herself that her natural diagnosis was wrong, that she was simply tired, overworked, not eating properly and her body was still adjusting from the end of her anti-viral course, from which she had suffered miserable side effects. But her body had betrayed her, and she was at a loss at how to handle the situation.

"Dr. Cameron?"

She jumped again, as the bathroom door opened and she registered Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine, standing in the doorway.

"I just handed House a new case, I think he's looking for you."

Cameron nodded and straightened up. "Right. Thanks."

Cuddy hesitated as the two exited the bathroom and made to separate. "Is everything okay?"

Cameron smiled faintly. "Yeah. Just one of those days."

She paused just around the corner from her boss's office and tried to calm her shaking hands before entering.

"Where were you?" House demanded.

"Bathroom," she replied.

"What, you finally decided to push that pole out of your ass?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I needed your permission to leave the room," she said icily.

House stared at her momentarily, taken aback by her true anger and then turned to the whiteboard.

As he began to list symptoms, Cameron looked around. Dr. Eric Foreman and Robert Chase were both already hunched over copies of the patient's file, their brows furrowed in thought. Next to Chase, was Cameron's usual chair.

When House turned and noticed Cameron had not moved from her spot in the doorway, he broke off the differential.

"What are you doing?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Standing."

"I can see that. Why?"

Cameron hesitated, glancing at her seat and House's eyes gleamed.

"What? You sleep with Chase, and now suddenly you won't go near him? Does he have cooties? If I'd known this is how you handle sleeping with colleagues, we really should have tried that months ago."

"It's not like that," Cameron said quietly, aware both Chase and Foreman were watching her.

"Ok, then. In that case, maybe you should actually be a doctor and help diagnose the patient. I know I've said you were lobby art, but I thought you were lobby art, that also did work."

Cameron's eyes smartened with tears that she fought to hold back. "Go to hell," she told House and then walked out of the room.

Chase, Foreman and House were startled. Cameron could get mad at House and did quite often, but her dedication to their patients never wavered.

"What's wrong with her?" Chase frowned.

"PMS?" Foreman suggested, only half-joking.

House cocked his head thoughtfully and then his eyes widened in realisation. "No, not PMS. She's pregnant."

Foreman's jaw dropped and his and House's gaze went directly to Chase, who was ashen.

"Mosel Tov," House said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Chase couldn't speak.

Chase found Cameron outside, where she was sitting quietly in the March sunshine.

"You're pregnant."

It was a statement, not a question. Cameron looked up at him in shock, seemingly speechless.

"Yeah. How- How did you... House?"

Chase nodded. "Of course."

They fell into an awkward silence, and then Cameron sighed.

"I'm going to have the baby."

Chase nodded. "I know. And... I'll be there for you," he promised. Then he whistled softly. "Wow... This- this is big. A baby..."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know. Are you sure you want to do this? I don't want you to feel pressured," she said softly.

Chase took her hand and squeezed it lightly. "I'm sure. It's huge, but I'm not just going to walk away."

Cameron smiled slightly, then turned green, covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh, excuse me!"

It soon became public knowledge that Cameron was pregnant. Mostly because she was terribly sick, and suffering from constant morning sickness; but also helped by House, who had taken it upon himself to inform every staff member personally.

Cameron and Chase had seen the OB/GYN Cameron had chosen, and discovered she was due in late September, and seeing the first picture of their child had brought tears to both Cameron's and Chase's eyes. Cameron had found the courage to tell her parents, who had taken the news fairly well, and promised to support her.

Chase's main worry was Cameron's health, which apart from her severe nausea which left her dizzy, was excellent. Foreman, Cuddy and Dr. James Wilson, House's only friend, were her biggest supporters amongst the staff. House himself, didn't really seem to care one way or the other, as long as Cameron continued to make his coffee and answer his mail, he was much more preoccupied with the departure of his former girlfriend, Stacy Warner and her husband, Marc from the hospital.

One day as Cameron entered her eighth week, she was doing her usual duty of answering House's mail, as Chase and Foreman played chess. House was trapped in the clinic on Cuddy's orders, and not happy about it. He limped into the conference room and headed straight for the coffee pot.

"Have fun?" Foreman asked brightly, and House glowered at him.

"Who ever had the bright idea to let people diagnose themselves online is an idiot," he retorted. "Why do they always assume it's something fatal?"

Cameron rolled her eyes. "I doubt they intentionally search the most serious conditions that match their symptoms."

"No, but the guy I saw today had been Googling conditions that would score him the most drugs," House admitted, approaching her.

Cameron took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her mouth pressed tightly together as the smell of coffee hit her nose. Chase looked up from his game to watch her worriedly, whilst House took a step back.

"You're not gonna puke again, are you?"

"Not if I can help it," she murmured, taking continuingly deep breaths.

House frowned through the door at the hallway. "You know, I never realised just how far away from the bathroom we are. Cuddy has her own bathroom, why can't we?"

"Why stop there, why not get our own cafeteria?" Foreman said sarcastically and House nodded, placing his coffee on the edge of the table.

"Exactly. That's a great idea!"

Cameron rolled her eyes. "You're pathetic," she muttered. Then she gathered together a few pieces of paper on the desk in front of her.

"House, I need you to sign these- oh!"

As she came around the desk, she suddenly whitened and her head swam. The papers drifted out of her hand, and House, who was closest dropped his cane and hurriedly lunged to catch her as her knees gave way and she collapsed in a dead faint.

"Shit!" Chase swore, hastening to her side.

House gently placed her on the floor and knelt to take her pulse.

"Foreman, get some water," he ordered and Foreman rushed to the sink.

"Allison?" Chase called in concern.

"Has she been eating?" House asked Chase.

Chase tried to remember, but his brain couldn't focus. "Uh... uh, yeah. I guess. She can't really keep much down though."

"Great nutrition for a pregnant woman," House muttered.

When Cameron came to, she looked around in confusion. She was in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and Chase was by her side.

"Chase?" she asked quietly, and he looked up in relief.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

Cameron moaned slightly. "Don't ask. What happened?"

"You fainted," he told her gently. Then he spoke up awkwardly. "Look, Allison... don't take this the wrong way... I think I should come live with you."

Cameron's eyebrows raised in shock. "What?"

He sat beside her and nodded. "I'm not talking about a relationship, because we both know to get together just because we're having a baby is not a good idea. But this is serious. If you'd fainted at home, alone, something really bad could've happened. You could lose the baby or hit your head, or anything. I'd really feel a lot better if I knew you were okay."

"So, you're asking to move in?" Cameron said uncertainly.

"It would just be until the baby's born," he assured her. "And well... even though we've worked together for the past two years, there's a lot I don't know about you. And I don't want to miss out on anything that happens with the baby."

Cameron bit her lip. It was a lot to take in, especially when her stomach was still churning. Then a sudden little voice spoke up, reminding her that the reason her stomach was churning, was because there was a person inside of her, who was depending on her to survive. And despite the awkward situation between her and Chase, this was his baby too, and he deserved to be there for his child.

"Well," she said slowly. "I guess... I mean, I have a spare room that never gets used."

Chase grinned at her hopefully. "Are you sure? I don't want to guilt you into agreeing," he told her sincerely.

She smiled. "No, it's a logical idea. It's actually smart, and my mom would probably feel better knowing you're there. And you're right, we're having a baby together, we should know more about each other than just work stuff," she agreed.

So Chase moved into Cameron's spare room and the time began to fly past. Cameron could hardly believe it when she awoke one morning in June and realised she was already six months pregnant. She was beginning to gain quite a bit of weight as her stomach expanded, but the baby was healthy and she was just grateful for that, and the fact she was no longer throwing up constantly.

One Sunday morning, Cameron was awoken by a constant banging on her front door. She squinted at the clock, saw that it was just after ten in the morning, and moaned slightly, hoping Chase would answer the door. When the knocking didn't cease, she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed, threw a cotton robe over the nightgown she wore to bed and hastily ran her fingers through her hair as she made her way to the door.

"Finally!" House declared, when she opened the door.

Cameron blinked and then registered Foreman standing next to House, shrugging to her apologetically.

"House, what are you doing here?" Cameron demanded.

"New case. We had to make a house call, because neither you or Chase were answering your pages," House explained, inviting himself inside.

"A minute longer, and I was gonna get Foreman to break in."

"Which I already told you, I wasn't going to do," Foreman said pointedly from the doorway.

"Do you want to come in, Foreman?" she offered, inviting _him _in, which he accepted, closing the door behind him.

"So, ignoring pages?" House asked her lightly, sitting down on her couch.

Cameron yawned. "Chase's is broken. And until thirty seconds ago, I was asleep!"

Foreman raised an eyebrow. "At ten in the morning?"

"Apparently the baby's idea of fun is to spend all night kicking my kidneys and bladder," Cameron explained. "You try sleeping through internal abuse. I got about three hours sleep."

"Where's Chase?" House asked, looking around, no interest in the nocturnal actions of Cameron's unborn child.

Cameron moved into the kitchenette and picked a note off the fridge. "Gone to the store, apparently. So, new case?"

House nodded. "Yeah. We can wait for Chase though, it's just some donor's kid. Very bad case of the sniffles. By hanging out here, I avoid Cuddy. She'll never look here."

"Of course," Cameron rolled her eyes, sticking bread in the toaster.

The two watched in silence as Cameron made her breakfast, but as she picked up the weekend paper, House couldn't resist.

"Let me guess, you have some bizarre method in which you raise the paper?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "Not really," she shrugged.

Opening it, she picked out the news, entertainment and fashion sections out and promptly dropped the remaining sections of the paper into the trash. House's jaw dropped.

"Please tell me you did not just throw out the sports section?" he asked in horror.

Cameron was puzzled. "Yeah, I don't read it."

House closed it his eyes briefly. "Dear God, woman. Give it here, I haven't read it yet."

Suppressing a smile, she did so silently and then began to eat. It was silent for a moment, before the door opened and Chase let himself in, carrying groceries.

"Hey, what's up?"

"New case," Foreman answered.

House put the sports away and rounded on Chase. "Have you seen what she does with the sports?"

"Yeah, that's why I read the paper first," he grinned, putting groceries away.

"So do we need to do a differential or did you just feel like bugging us?" Cameron asked House, putting her dishes in the sink.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?" House asked her, raising an eyebrow as he took in her appearance.

She narrowed her eyes. "_Three_ hours sleep, House. Either start talking or I'm going back to bed now."

House considered this momentarily and then began to rattle off symptoms. They ran through a few possibilities and then Chase returned to the hospital with Foreman and House, who took the sports with him; and Cameron wearily returned to bed.

A week before Cameron's due date, a fierce storm raged through the city, thunder and lightning flashing through the dark sky. House stood at the sink pouring himself a cup of coffee as Cameron stood next to him, rinsing her own mug of hot chocolate. Suddenly, Cameron froze and House frowned up at the ceiling.

"Great, the roof's leaking," he said in disgust.

Cameron cleared her throat. "Uh, no. That was me."

Chase abandoned his paperwork and rushed to her side and Foreman looked up expectantly.

"That means your waters ruined my shoes!" House complained.

Cameron glared at him. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, these are good shoes and I paid-" House broke off as Cameron's glare intensified. "Right, baby coming. We'll discuss this later," he said.

After a eight hour labour, Danielle Cameron-Chase entered the world with a loud cry. When their colleagues entered the room that afternoon to congratulate the new parents, Cameron beamed at the sight of them, cradling her daughter in her arms.

"Oh my god!" Cuddy said softly, her voice thick with emotion.

"Do you want to hold her?" Cameron offered, and handed her to Cuddy expertly.

"She's gorgeous, you guys. Congratulations," Wilson told them sincerely and Foreman added his congratulations.

"House? Care to comment?" Wilson asked, as Cuddy handed the baby to Foreman.

House drummed his fingers on his cane and then looked up from where he had been studying the floor closely.

"Yeah, actually. You two owe me eighty bucks for my sneakers."

Wilson, Cuddy and Foreman all gave him a look of exasperation.

"That's really the most important thing here?" Cuddy demanded.

House scoffed. "Yeah, these are top of the line. And they're ruined. I cannot wear these shoes again knowing Cameron's water has been on them. I don't even know why I'm wearing them now."

Foreman turned away from House pointedly, handed Danielle to Wilson and then turned to his colleagues.

"So, how is this going to work between you?"

Cameron and Chase exchanged a glance. "Well, I don't think we have to worry about custody arrangements just yet," Chase said.

"But I'm going to stay with Allison a bit longer, help get Danielle into a routine and settled, and then... we'll make it work."

Cameron smiled softly at the father of her daughter as Wilson tenderly returned the baby to her grasp and then her gaze gravitated to the features of her infant daughter, knowing they would make it work.

**6 Years Later**

"Danielle! Come on, honey! We're going to be late!"

Cameron stood patiently by the door, ready for work and keys in her hand. With a rush of feet, Danielle, a bright six-year old with her father's blonde hair and her mother's blue- gray eyes hurried to meet her mother, who picked up her backpack for school.

"Ok, babe? I'm giving Dr. House a lift to work today, so we have to stop there on the way to school."

Danielle frowned up at her mother in curiosity. "How come?"

"Because his bike's in the shop and Uncle James had to go into work early. Ok?"

Danielle nodded. "Ok, Mommy."

Cameron smiled to herself as Danielle insisted on buckling her own seatbelt before they could drive off, and per her daughter's request, began to play the soundtrack for _The Little Mermaid. _When they pulled up alongside House's townhouse, she beeped the horn, and House limped outside and got in the car.

"Hi," she greeted him with a smile as he climbed into the front seat and shut the door.

He grunted a greeting in return and Cameron rolled her eyes. House frowned at the music.

"What is this?" he demanded.

"The Little Mermaid," Danielle chirped cheerfully from the backseat as _Under the Sea _came on.

He turned around and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. "You are way too chipper. You're just like your mother."

"I want to be just like Mommy when I grow up," Danielle informed him seriously.

House sighed heavily and turned around again. "Just what the world needs. Another Allison Cameron."

"Better another me than another you," Cameron replied steadily and House nodded in admitted defeat.

"Yeah, ok."

When Cameron pulled to a stop outside Princeton Elementary School, she turned around to stop Danielle from getting out.

"Ok, now who's picking you up this afternoon?"

"Daddy, because you have to work late," the little girl chimed, with the air of one repeating something she had been told many times before.

"And if Daddy's busy, who will get you?"

"Uncle Eric, or Uncle James or Aunt Lisa," she sang.

Cameron smiled. "Good girl. Ok, bye chook... give me a kiss before you go."

Danielle darted forward to peck her mother's cheek and in the same instant, boldly pecked House's cheek much to his shock and Cameron's amusement.

"Bye, Dr. House!"

House glanced sideways at Cameron as she drove off after watching Danielle skip safely into the school grounds.

"She is definitely your kid," he muttered and Cameron chuckled.

"Why are you working late?" he asked her.

"Cuddy asked me to do the department budget reports. That way they actually get done on time," she said lightly.

House considered this. "She probably should have done that seven years ago."

The team was greeted with a new patient that day and they had just completed a differential, when House ordered Cameron and Chase to inspect the patient's home.

"Wait!" Cameron cried suddenly, as they made to split up. "Robert and I can't both go. It's almost three, someone has to pick up Dani. Can't Foreman go with Robert?"

"No," House replied. "He's got clinic duty."

Cameron sighed in frustration, and House picked up on her tone.

"Can't you pick her up on the way?"

Chase gave him a look of disbelief. "We are not taking our six year old daughter with us while we break into someone's house!"

House hesitated, then rolled his eyes and heaved a huge sigh of inconvenience. "Ok fine. Cameron, go with Chase. Foreman, you go to the clinic. I'll sacrifice my soap to go get the kid and bring her here. Ok? Cameron, give me your car keys."

Cameron's eyes widened slightly in disbelief, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and surrendered her car keys. "That'd be a huge help, House. Thanks."

House merely grumbled and limped out of the office.

Over the past six years, House had never been as involved in his employees personal lives as Foreman, Wilson and Cuddy; all of whom were regular baby sitters if Cameron or Chase needed it. Their custody arrangement, that Danielle lived with Cameron, but stayed with her father on alternate weekends and two weeknights had worked well for them. Cameron and Chase were close, although not romantically and Chase was a dedicated father, living only a short distance away from Cameron.

That night, as Cameron watched her daughter sleep, her mind suddenly reflected on the day she had discovered she was pregnant. She had never imagined the consequences of one night could be so great, or so rewarding. It had not been the life she had dreamed about as a young girl, but she knew she wouldn't change a moment of it.

The End


End file.
